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Boker Kwaiken Knife Review

Today we’re getting up close and personal with the Boker Kwaiken. The Kwaiken has been around for a while, but I thought it was high time we spotlighted this awesome knife.

Background

The Kwaiken was designed by Lucas Burnley. From what I’ve gathered, the Kwaiken started out as a custom design and later evolved into a production design after Burnley teamed up with Boker Knives to make a production version. In fact, this is Burnley’s first factory collaboration ever, and it has become a staple for many knife collectors. Lucas Burnley designs are very clean and functional, just like his website. Knife makers are known for their outstanding knife designs, but not so much for their well-designed websites. Lucas Burnley is an exception; his website is extremely clean and has a great layout, which shows that great design is infused in every aspect of his life.

The Knife

Now it’s time to take a look at what makes this knife so popular. First off, here’s some info on the Kwaiken’s specs. The specs will vary depending on what knife you’re looking at, but for this post we’re going to take a look at the Kwaiken pictured at the top of this post.

The Boker Kwaiken totals 8.375 inches in length with a 3.5-inch blade, and it weighs 4.27 ounces. The blade on this knife is AUS-8, which has .75 percent carbon, and it has a tough composition while still holding an edge well. It’s not a high-end steel, but it is very functional and helps keep the cost of this custom-gone-production knife cost down so that it’s more affordable and accessible to more people.

The blade has a thumb disk, which I actually prefer to most thumb studs. It’s big enough so your thumb finds it easily, and its shape is pretty ergonomic. I’ve opened many a knife that had a rough, pointy thumb stud that hurt after just a few times of opening and closing the blade. The thumb disk on the Kwaiken will be much friendlier on your fingers.

The handle on this Kwaiken is Micarta, but it’s also available in G-10, titanium, and carbon fiber. I tend to favor the Micarta and G-10 versions because I like having a grippy handle, so I really like this specific model of the Kwaiken. The handle is also nice and slim, so it fits really nicely in the hand and isn’t too bulky.

The knife opens using an IKBS ball-bearing system, so it has very smooth opening. It also has a nice liner lock that’s a breeze to use.

Overall Thoughts

I personally really like this knife. It’s not a rugged knife; rather, it’s an elegant knife that you can use to tackle your daily chores while still looking like a classy guy or gal. It has excellent functionality and fits nicely in the hand. It is designed in such a way that opening and closing the knife isn’t going to be a chore, and the opening action is really, really smooth. I really like the elegance and functionality in this knife. In my book, this knife is a winner.